evilivan

It was an amazing morning - clear blue skies, but fog all the way up the wall. I have a shot of the group standing at the top with the fog rolling over the cliff edge in the sunlight, but can't post it cos faces are recognisable... "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Ah, the frog Yeah, it was.... "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Glad you like it

One of the few pictures I have with me in it - and therefore by definition absolutely awesome.... "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

What gweeks said... "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Excellent. "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

I like it. Here is one I really like; written by Rilke (1875-1926): "We should not be afraid that our strength is insufficient to endure any experience of death, even the closest and most terrifying death is not beyond our strength; it is the measuring line at the vessel's brim: we are full whenever we reach it... We should live life so generously, so without calculation and selection, that we involuntarily continue to include, and to love, death too (life's inverted side);... like the moon, surely life has a side permanently turned away from us which is not its opposite but its counterpart towards completion, towards wholeness, towards the actual perfect and full sphere and globe of being." "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Confucios say: "To ask a question is a moments shame; to not ask and remain ignorant is a lifelong shame." Or something like that. "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

In the interest of clarity, I'll add to the story - I was the person who spoke to this jumper.... A friend asked me to help a guy who was looking for "someone who knows how to pack a BASE rig". Spoke to the guy: he has 80 jumps and apparently he had asked a friend in CA to buy him a 2nd hand rig because they are cheaper out there; this friend accidentally bought him a BASE rig. The rig had "75 jumps, no water landings" according to the seller. Asked the new owner his intentions and he said "jump it?". I advised strongly against this, although I told him that its "his life".... All this before taking the rig out of the stash bag. Rig is a Vertex, in OK condition with relatively new Velcro. Canopy is a Cruiselite, a lot more then 75 jumps on it. One pilot chute, prob 48'' (didn't measure it), 4 spoke. I commented "you probably wouldn't want to use this PC"; he said "because its too big?". Hmmmm.... Long story short, told the guy that the canopy is actually built for skydiving and there is specific BASE gear now-a-days. Strongly recommended against him jumping; if he is interested in BASE he should get a couple hundred more jumps and go and do a FJC (all the usual "have you heard of the Perrine?" "No" "etc etc"). What concerns me is that if his story is true, someone in CA sold an old bit of non-specific BASE gear to a non-jumper, no questions asked and mis-leading info given. Hopefully this won't become a grid reference.... "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Can't make it this year.... Shame, would have been good to see you (you Welsh git ) "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Goddamit; the above is the crux of the ...potential... problem (and coming from you, Tom? ) I should have said this in my first post: I think the main reason people choose stowed on short delays is exactly because of what Tom said above; there are, of course, reasons for stowed (on short delays): * Primarily: object and exit; you may need as many hands as you can muster * Secondarily: you feel more comfortable that way Otherwise? No logical reason. People, we are part of a few thousand out four billion who are prepared to do this. Why try to be the cutting edge when we are the cutting edge? It becomes the bleeding edge all too soon. As we have seen. Small print: I know nothing. Ivan "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

I work on the theory that unless the exit calls for it (need both hands on the object), there is no advantage in going stowed. Caveats: 1) I am a newbie 2) I've never gone stowed. "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

In your words Nick: that is a nugget. "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

I never posted this story/experience - it is old news, 18 months ago at least - but it is so (dis)similar to yours I feel compelled to share... This has potential to be a long one, so I will do an abbreviated version (timings are roughly as I remember them but not exact – the general theme pretty much covers it though): March 2003: bought new Icarus Crossfire 2 114 March 2003 – April 2004: jumped new Crossfire 2, approx 400 jumps, always suspicious of slight left hand turn – thought it was leg straps / lines / risers / harness; but admit I did ignore it cos I needed it as a 2nd rig for training camps (my bad) April 2004: broke leg and loaned rig as backup for the team June/July 2004: rig returned with a reported left hand turn September 2004: canopy sent to Icarus Spain for inspection and possible line set October – December 2004: unable to contact relevant person at Icarus January 2005: found out from dealer friend of mine that they had found a problem with the canopy and I should get in touch January – April 2005: unable to get in touch April/May 2005: finally got in touch; yes, there is a problem with the canopy but unfortunately they didn’t know where the canopy was; they needed to locate it to find out the details of the issue May – June 2005: unable to get in touch June/July 2005: finally got in touch; canopy located in boot (trunk for you Septics) of test jumpers car. Built in left hand turn, sorry about that, please accept 15% off new canopy of your choice (no you can’t have yours back) 2 shocked minutes later: 15%?!? Not really very happy with that (or words to that effect) - their response: well, you did take a long time to send the canopy back, but will to talk to the management August 2005: no contact made by Icarus so I called them; management were prepared to go to 30%. 0.0000001 seconds later (slightly angry): you can take your 30% and stuff it @**£$”£%^”¬!. All my future custom and recommendations will go elsewhere. Couple of things I should add: there is no doubt that I should have sent the canopy back much (much) earlier. I can’t refute that. But what really annoys be about the whole episode was the fact that they used my tardiness as the reason for the limited compensation offer, but their tardiness was almost worse – especially as they are the service provider and I am the customer. And lets not forget that they built the faulty product. I didn’t bother to pursue it further; I don’t have the time, I certainly couldn’t be bothered dealing with them anymore, and I’m lucky enough to be able to take the financial hit. I will never buy or recommend an Icarus canopy again – or at least as long as other companies offer far, far superior customer service (and, in my opinion, canopies). Ivan "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Dude, I will post an Icarus (probably the second biggest sport canopy manafacture?) story here when I have a few minutes that belies that statement. I'm PD all the way after that experience.... "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Don't know you mate, but that bit of reasoning is enough to show me that you are well on the way to recovery. Stick with it bro; its no fun but there is point. However pointless it seems to you... Take care Ivan "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Where's the "I don't want to think about it" option? "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

....aligators live in trees?!? "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Very good that you are still with us mate; and we got an entertaining and educational read out of it, so looks like we've all been lucky... Ref: you question about above average incidents, I don't think so; here's mine. Background: 25-30 (don't know for sure) jumps over 2 yrs. Not exactly current.... Jump 18 (I think): broken tib/fib, dislocated ankle due to late flare; very dark, couldn't see the ground (short version: bad judgement) Jump 20-something: 180 due to brake fire; had not set the brakes correctly (although I know people who intentionally set the brakes like this every jump) Jump 20-something: damaged meniscus (both sides of knee) and bruised bones on landing; turns out I had snapped my ACL - non jumping incident - approx 8 weeks before but didn't know, hence reduced stability in the knee. That's three in 25-ish. ...I think I win PS The "win" comment is for humour purposes only; those who feel they need to point out that I've been idiot and number of incidents is not a competition, there is no need. I know. "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Really bad picture (taken with a mobile phone); 98 RRW Blade. Its in a right state at the moment cos I use it everyday through the winter (and I'm terrible at looking after stuff), but it still goes like stink and makes me happy

My mark1 eyeball says it looks dodgy. "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

A bunch of us Brits did a two-day outdoor focussed first aid course recently; the guys who run the course normally do it for mountaineers/climbers/cavers etc but they were happy to adapt the content for our specific needs and situations. They tried to make it as realistic as possible and a lot of it was hands-on practice; we spend half a day practicing scenarios outdoors with the "patient" wearing helmets/body armour etc. It was definitely worth doing... "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

The plan is: I am picking him up and if its not jumpable - which almost def the case - we are heading out to my house (Watford) and drinking. So far the Sultan isn't answering his calls, so we may be paying for the strippers ourselves... "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

Check this thread out from a couple of years ago; I liked the guy's design enough to use it myself... Also a few other suggestions in the thread. clicky Ivan "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent

....I work in an entirely useless-to-the-BASE-community area of the media (darling). Therefore I am useless......... But they pay me well, so f*ck you all. Jaap: that game may be more useful then you think. Mileage there, I think (although it may, as they say, vary). "If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation." David Brent